The present invention relates to the field of communications and more particularly to telecommunications devices including antennas.
Personal telecommunications devices such as satellite radiotelephones, combined satellite and cellular radiotelephones, global positioning systems (GPS) and the like often employ one or more patch antennas for receiving and/or sending radio signals. For example, it has been proposed to provide global positioning features in cellular radiotelephones. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,633 to Dennison et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,668 to Loomis et al., the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
Portable radiotelephones including GPS receivers have typically used an additional antenna to provide GPS reception. For example, quadrifilar helix antennas extending from the radiotelephone body have been used. Quadrifilar helix antennas may be difficult to integrate into an industrial design.
In co-assigned and co-pending application Ser. No. 09/193,587, filed Nov. 17, 1998, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety, there are disclosed radiotelephones including GPS receivers which incorporate patch antennas to receive global positioning system signals. Locating the patch antenna in/on the radiotelephone body in a manner which does not significantly affect the dimensions thereof is discussed. However, in order to do so, the patch antenna is perforated so as not to interfere with other functions or components of the radiotelephone such as speakers and buttons. Such perforations may necessitate special tuning of the antenna and/or reduce the performance of the antenna.
It is often difficult or impractical to find space for a patch antenna on the increasingly small handsets of radiotelephones and GPS devices. Often, the overall size or range of functionality of the device must be designed to accommodate the patch antenna(s). In some cases, the provision of a patch antenna may simply be impractical.
The present invention is directed to an antenna/push-button assembly which reduces or eliminates the problems associated with antennas such as patch antennas in small telecommunications devices as discussed above. The antenna/push-button assembly makes improved use of the available space of the device by integrating the antenna and one or more push-button functions.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an antenna/push-button assembly includes a first contact, a second contact movable relative to the first contact, and a button member. The button member includes an integral antenna. The button member is movable to engage the second contact with the first contact. The antenna may be a patch antenna.
Preferably, the assembly includes a spring member operative to bias the second contact away from the first contact. The button member may include a button cover covering at least a portion of the antenna. Preferably, the antenna is a patch antenna including a dielectric substrate having upper and lower opposed surfaces, an electrically conductive patch element disposed on the upper surface, and a ground plane layer disposed on the lower surface. The assembly may include a flexible grounding connector having a first end connected to the ground plane layer and a second end adapted to be connected to a supplemental ground plane spaced from the ground plane layer. An antenna feed line may extend through the ground plane layer and the dielectric substrate, the feed line being electrically coupled to the patch element.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a portable telecommunications device includes an antenna/push-button assembly comprising a button member. The button member includes an integral antenna. The button member is operable to control a function of the telecommunications. The antenna may be a patch antenna.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a portable telecommunications device includes a circuit board and an antenna/push-button assembly. The antenna/push-button assembly includes a first contact mounted on the circuit board, a second contact movable relative to the first contact, and a button member. The button member includes an integral antenna. The button member is movable to engage the second contact with the first contact. The antenna may be a patch antenna.
The portable telecommunications device may include: a transceiver that transmits and receives radiotelephone communications; a processor coupled to the transceiver that processes the radiotelephone communications transmitted and received by the transceiver; a speaker coupled to the processor that generates sound responsive to the received radiotelephone communications; and a microphone coupled to the processor that generates electrical signals for the transmitted radiotelephone communications responsive to outside sound. The antenna includes a conductive layer that receives electromagnetic signals. The antenna is coupled to the processor and/or the transceiver. The antenna may be a patch antenna.
The telecommunications device may include a housing body, wherein the circuit board is disposed in the housing body. The button member is movably received in the housing body.
The objects of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.